Inayat-ur-Rahman, Business Editor

The Dubai property market has started the year 2022 on a high note, with the first quarter producing record-breaking numbers as the total transactions reached 19,009 by the end of March, concluding the best first quarter ever in the Dubai property market.

According to Zoom Property Insights, the residential capital value has grown up to 19 per cent annually as the market is progressing rapidly, thanks to the government’s initiatives, visa reforms, Expo 2020 and the influx of foreign investors during the January-March quarter.

The average property prices in Dubai recorded year-on-year increase of 11.4 per cent during the quarter, with average apartment and villa prices rising by 10 per cent and 20.2 per cent, respectively, due to higher demand in the market.

Ata Shobeiry, CEO at Zoom Property, believes that after a strong 2021, the market will continue its golden run in 2022 as well.

“A strong 2021 and the promising start of the year is a sign that 2022 is going to produce good numbers for the market. Villas will continue their growth, while based on the double-digit growth in Q1 2022, it can be expected that the apartment segment will perform better than last year,” he said.

“The property market will continue attracting foreigners with its new developments, lucrative opportunities, and investor-friendly policies,” Shobeiry said.

The apartment sector, which recorded nearly double-digit price growth during the first quarter, registered an overwhelming response from the buyers, increasing average rates to Dhs 1,098 per square foot.

Jumeirah Beach Residence, Business Bay, and Dubai Marina -- with nearly 16 per cent, 10 per cent, and 3.4 per cent annual price growth, respectively, dominated the apartment market, according to the Zoom Property Insights.

Downtown Dubai, with around 8 per cent growth, and Jumeirah Lake Towers, with 10.5 per cent growth, are other communities that remained popular among buyers during the first quarter. Palm Jumeirah also recorded a massive increase of nearly 22 per cent and remained a most sought after community in Dubai.

Continuing their dominance, villa prices increased by a little over 20 per cent during the first quarter. By the end of March, the average villa price in Dubai was calculated at Dhs 1,267 per square foot.

Among various villa communities, Arabian Ranches and Jumeirah Islands remained the preferred choice of buyers as they reported a little over 40 per cent annual increase. They were followed by The Lakes with around 37 per cent price growth while Jumeirah Village and Palm Jumeirah (with around 35 increase each) were other popular villa communities in Q1 2022.

Besides them, Meadows, Jumeirah Park, and Emirates Hills also remained popular with buyers with a growth of 34.5 per cent, 33.5 per cent, and 32.9 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, according to the Mo’asher, Dubai’s official sales and rental performance index that was launched by Dubai Land Department (DLD) in cooperation with Property Finder, Dubai’s real estate market records a total of 25,972 real estate transactions in Q1 2022, marking it the highest number of real estate transactions since 2010 registered in a single quarter and the highest volume since Q1 2014.

The data demonstrates Dubai’s real estate market significant growth and continuous upward trend while it continues to provide vital insights and transparency into the Dubai real estate market.

In March 2021, the overall monthly Index for sales recorded 1.249 and an index price of Dhs 1,215,672, the apartments monthly Index recorded 1.285 and an index price of Dhs 1,100,294, and the villas/townhouses monthly Index recorded 1.297 and an index price of Dhs 2,100,519.

Meanwhile, the overall monthly index for rental in March 2021 recorded 0.950 and an index price of Dhs 51,322, the apartments monthly Index recorded 0.953 and an index price of Dhs 47,294, and the villas/townhouses monthly Index recorded 0.865 and an index price of Dhs 131,313.

In Q1 2022, the overall quarterly Index for sales recorded 1.251 and an index price of Dhs 1,186,002, the apartments quarterly Index recorded 1.26 and an index price of Dhs 1,067,385, and the villas/townhouses quarterly Index recorded 1.234 and an index price of Dhs 2,094,633.

Dubai Real Estate had 8,399 sales transactions worth Dhs 22.58 billion in March 2022; the number of these sales transactions are the highest recorded in the past 7 years. This is an 83 percent increase in total sales transactions compared to March 2021 and a 109 percent increase in sales value.

During the month of March 2022, 60.16 percent of total sales were for secondary/ready properties and 40.4 percent were for off-plan properties 39.84 percent of total sales.

Additionally in March 2022, the sector saw over 44,783 rental contracts in the Dubai market with 60.28  percent of contracts were new and 39.72 percent were renewals; 78 percent belonged to annual contracts and 21 percent were driven by non-annual.